The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-10-29

One hundred Bloomington men are 10
put 81 900 each into fund for the erection
of tenement cottages of five or six rooms,
possessing modern conveniences such as
city and cisterH water, good cellars, incan-
descent light, etc. The glowing promise
Is held out that these cottages can be rent
ed for 500 year.-Er.
This is an example that should be fol-
lowed In Ottawa. The scarcity of houses
the outrageously high rentals charged; and
the meager accommodations offered for the
rentals paid, are crying evils in Ottawa,
There are, in truth no comfortable houses
to rent at any time under $500 to $500 a
year, and very few at those prices.
1t is hardly probable that the houses
these Bloomington men propose will be
rented for 500. 1t is not likely that SINH
lar houses would be rented for that price in
Ottawa A house with incandescent cleo
trio light Is not asked for here. But ten.
ants of the very best class can readily be
found for six to eight room modern cot.
tage, supplied with cistern and arteslan
we'll water, cellar, and drains. From 80 to
70 such cottages could be rented in week.
The rapidity with which the flats In the
Colwell building were rented shows the
demand there Is for decent dwellings at a
reasonable and fair rental. The Messrs
Colwell divided their building into suites
of four rooms, and offered them at $40 and
S12 month; and had their building ex.
tended north another block, they could
have divided the second story of such a
building into the same kind of rooms and
rented all as quickly as they rented those
they have. The plaster was but barely dry
before all the rooms were occupied! No
doubt they could have gotten more money,
especially for front rooms; but they placed
their rentals at reasonable price (only the
corner rooms being placed as high as $15)
and thus filled their building with the very
cream of desirable tenants.
Not only is there demand for houses at
a fair rental, but there is also demand for
houses that may be purchased on the in
stallment plan. There are scores of young
and middle-aged men in Ottawa with fam
lilies growing I'D around them who would
be glad to buy moderate priced cottages
for homes on terms of that kind; who
would be glad to put their savings into
home if they could do so in the way indl'
Gated. Purchasing in that way is, of
course, always more expensive than cash
purchase with lump sum. But few have
the lump gum, fewer still will ever have
such lump sum; but of those who pay
monthly rental many could and would add
few dollars to that monthly rental If by
so doing they saw a prospect of one day
becoming an owner. This kind of a scheme
would be of as much If not of more value
to the community than the proposed saw
ings bank, of the establishment Of which
there are rumors
Itwould seem feasible project f6 the
syndicate handling the South Ottawa addi-
ton to include such project with their
land Improvement purposes. 1t would i'm
prove their real estate more rapidly than
the mere selling of lots to purchasers who
are merely prospective builders, who may
or may not build as circumstances may
decide. 1t would put upon their lands just
the class Of families they say are the only
ones they want there-the frugal, the in
dustrious and the clearly families who
will take pride in their surroundings.
1t is not necessary to expatiate on the
good resulting to community where
homes are easy of purchase. The house
owner is, 900 cases in 1, 000 good citizen
he votes right In city politics; he is down
on municipal extravaganza; he invariably
sets his face against unnecessary and high
taxes; he ls not an anarchist or socialist.
Such towns are good places to live in and
to do business in, for the workmen are con-
sentative; they have something besides
Saturday nights pay to look forward to
they take an interest in the town, its well
fare and its good name, because they have
the greatest of all incentives-a pecuniary
interest in its welfare What the bull ding
societies of Philadelphia have done to
make that city the great city of homes par
excellence liberal and fair-minded syndi-
cate of capitalists could do for Ottawa,
where by reason of Its size the benefit of
the building association is restricted more
or less in the scope of its usefulness, great
as 1t has been and is today in Ottawa.